Cruel buggy theft
MUM WAS FEEDING HER JUST YARDS AWAY
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A CRUEL thief left a mother and baby stranded in a Drogheda café after making off with the tot's pram – while her mum fed her feet away.
Now the parents of baby Saedbh O'connor, who was born on Christmas Day, say they'll never shop on Drogheda's main street again.
Customers and staff came to their assistance, with one giving her a blanket to wrap the child up in. A CRUEL thief left a mother and baby stranded in a Drogheda cafe when they made off with the tot's pram - while her mum fed her just feet away.
Baby Saedbh, who featured in the Drogheda Independent just weeks ago as a Christmas Day arrival, had to be carried to the family car in a borrowed blanket as that was also taken in the sneaky theft.
Her parents, Jenny and Conal O'connor have vowed never to shop again on Drogheda's main street.
'Luckily, we had the car seat from the grey Silver Cross in the back seat of the car, otherwise I don't know what we would have done to get home' says Jenny, who is furious with the young woman she saw taking the €600 buggy out of the Moorland Cafe.
The family's ordeal started when Jenny and Conal went in for lunch and to feed Saedbh.
They parked their pram, which is blue and grey, and sat down to eat.
Minutes later Jenny saw someone wheeling a similar buggy out the door.
'I looked and thought ' that girl is pushing a buggy just like mine'.
But she was right - it was her buggy.
Shocked customers and staff rallied around after the Julianstown couple who were left with nothing but the clothes which Saedbh was wearing.
'One of the girls in the Moorland lent me a blanket so I could wrap her up and get her to Haymarket car park. Her own pink blanket was in the stolen pram.'
The thief, according to Jenny, was in her late teens or early 20s, with a high, brown ponytail, about 5 foot five inches and wearing dark clothes.
She is appealing for someone to bring back the pram because Saedbh is now using a borrowed small pram which she will outgrow within weeks.
'Just leave it into the gardai or even the Drogheda Independent office because we need it so badly.'
Jenny, whose dad, well known Drogheda solicitor, Peter Markey, died just four days before Saedbh was born is on maternity leave and her husband is a full-time student after being made redundant.
- CHRISTINE DOHERTY
